EVANSTON, Ill. -- Even with a different head coach and a different offense, Northwestern still has a way of making Michigan State basketball look ugly in Evanston.

The No. 4 Spartans (16-1, 5-0) couldn't hit a three and didn't own the glass for most of the night, but still managed to find a way to win 54-40 Wednesday to remain undefeated in the Big Ten.

The Spartans finished on an 19-9 run -- spurred partially by junior forward Alex Gauna -- to seal the win. Gary Harris may have led Michigan State with 14 points, but it was Gauna's eight that seemed to solidify Michigan State's second-half statement.

The eight points equaled a career-high for Gauna, who helped fill the void left by Adreian Payne. The senior forward was sidelined for the second-straight game with a sprained foot.

But don't let anyone tell you Northwestern hasn't improved dramatically on the defensive end under Chris Collins.

The Wildcats forced an MSU turnover on a first-half sideline out of bounds play and Sanjay Lumpkin embarrassed the Spartans three times -- once in the first half by taking a hard charge by Harris on a 1-on-1 in transition, once in the second half by rejecting a Denzel Valentine dunk attempt and again in the second half by swatting down a Travis Trice layup.

The Wildcat defense also held Michigan State to 1-of-11 three-point shooting in the first half and 2-for-16 overall, forcing the Big Ten's leading three-point shooter Keith Appling to go 0-for-3.

With the win, Tom Izzo tied Illinois' Lou Henson for fourth place on the Big
Ten career victories list with 214 wins. Izzo had moved past Indiana's Branch McCracken for fifth place in MSU's 73-56 win at Indiana earlier this month. Indiana's Bob Knight is the all-time leader with 353 Big Ten wins.

Highlights

-- The Spartans needed a big man to step up in the absence of Adreian Payne. Tonight that big was Alex Gauna, who scored 8 points in the second half despite averaging just 1.8 points per game this season.

-- The Wildcats had cut MSU's lead to four with twelve and a half minutes to play in the second half and were gaining momentum when Travis Trice hit a huge three. He followed that by drawing a foul on Northwestern's most energetic player of the night, Sanjay Lumpkin. The lead never dropped below seven again.

-- Tom Izzo says you don't need to be a coach to be able to assess how Branden Dawson is doing on a given night by looking at his face. Tonight was another example of that. From the minute Dawson entered the game he brought energy. In his first five minutes, he had a block, a put-back, four rebounds and an assist. He finished with 11 rebounds.

-- Up seven with nine minutes to play, Gary Harris got two offensive rebounds to extend back-to-back possessions on a night when the Wildcats had been the ones cleaning the glass. Michigan State ended up outrebounding the Wildcats 39-35.

Lowlights

-- Michigan State had come out of the locker room with energy. But following Keith Appling's second steal of the first three minutes of the second half, Denzel Valentine tried to be a hero. His highlight-reel dunk attempt, rather than making the smart pass to Branden Dawson underneath, got absolutely rejected by Sanjay Lumpkin. Making matters worse, Northwestern's Kale Abrahamson followed it with a transition three, wiping out MSU's initial second-half momentum.

-- Keith Appling leads the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage at 48.3 percent. He arrived in Evanston cold as ice. He missed his first three attempts from long range by a lot, including two straight air balls, and didn't hit his first bucket until 7:43 left in the first half. The team went 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from three in the first half and 2-for-16 overall in the game.

-- Michigan State basketball is known for rebounding. Former players would be less than thrilled to know that the Spartans were outrebounded 20-17 in the first half tonight versus the Big Ten's worst rebounding team.

What to watch for revisited

Adreian Payne (foot) didn't play for the second game in a row. We asked you who would take over the glass in his absence. Well, Michigan State was outrebounded by the Wildcats -- the Big Ten's worst rebounding team -- 20-17 in the first half. Branden Dawson finished with 11 and Gauna stepped up on the glass late.

Postgame question

Michigan State is now 5-0 in the Big Ten and one of just two remaining undefeated teams in league play. Michigan is the other. The Spartans have two games before they meet the Wolverines (at Illinois and at home against Indiana). Michigan travels to Wisconsin and then takes on Iowa at Crisler. Will the in-state rivals still be undefeated in the Big Ten when they meet in East Lansing on Jan. 25?